The Golden Globes Played It Safe, But Not in the Way You're Thinking

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Like everyone in my industry I watched the Golden Globes last night and, outside of some stray bits that weren't funny (Judd Apatow), it was fairly straightforward overall. As Ben Travers at IndieWire described the event, "It was a starry show (as it has to be), albeit one without a personality..." Gone was the drunken party atmosphere from years past – the Globes were often considered the fun awards compared to the stodgier Oscars – and in its place was more "Here's your award. Goodbye."

But, for me, last night's Globes didn't lack personality. Instead, they felt isolated, sanitized, like Glinda living in the bubble. It was always doubtful that host Nikki Glaser would make any big political statements, especially considering the Globes's home channel, CBS, continues to court claims they're an arm of state-run media. There was a requisite Epstein list joke during Glaser's opening monologue and how CBS was the home for "BS" news (honestly, that last one I'm surprised got through).

After millions of people watched a woman get shot in the face on social media, the entire affair felt disingenuous and out of touch. Hell, no one even celebrated Rob Reiner, aside from Glaser awkwardly coming out before the closing credits wearing a Spinal Tap hat and dropping quotes from the movie. It was an utterly bizarre attempt to honor him. She didn't say his name or anything so who knows if the average Joe got why she was doing it. Compare it to the recent Critics Choice Awards where host Chelsea Handler overtly honored Reiner during her time on-stage.

I've talked before about my desire to lose myself in art to get away from hard things, and how recently that's been difficult to do with how omnipresent and constant bad things keep happening. To watch the Globes there was a jarring sense of privilege, unlike any I'd felt watching previous awards. The Oscars have never been cancelled, but to watch the 2002 awards ceremony – just six months after 9/11 – one could feel a unifying spirit. Tom Cruise's opening speech at that night's ceremony was blunt about how people had been changed, and found solace and comfort in entertainment. None of that was felt last night in what came off like an attempt to hide from having to give an opinion.

It's unclear whether stars were told to eschew acknowledging current events or just straight-up decided not to. The lone exception was Jean Smart, a winner for her work on HBO Max's Hacks, who discussed during the pre-show about the cast and crew's struggles to work on the show considering the last week. Unfortunately, Smart said during her speech that she wouldn't be repeating what she said on the carpet. (Of course all the trolls came out of the woodwork on X when I celebrated Smart bringing up current events.)

R. Scott Gemmill, the creator of The Pitt, winner for best dramatic TV show, also made a point of saying, "We live in a very divided country in the world right now, but I think cinema brings us all together not only as an audience but as a community." These were moments that could feel fleeting or hollow, but seemed like the only ways anyone could express their true feelings overall.

Even the hint of a political statement, though, caused whoever was working the play-off music button to push it the minute the team behind Best Foreign Language winner, Brazil's The Secret Agent, started talking about the power of Brazilian cinema. The whole thing came off as more a fear of offending anyone, particularly the ones overseeing the channel.

The grand debate about awards shows and celebrities espousing (or being told not to) their opinions is myriad and diverse. But watching everything last night just seemed like "How can they not?" We're coming to a point where it's hard to lose ones self in stuff that feels frivolous, and entertainment and movies are certainly pilloried as such. But cinema, particularly American, is a global medium and being scared to say what you think for fear of losing fans is what feels frivolous. (Let's be real, the other side ain't giving a shit about it.)

This is all to say I wish those attending the Globes had taken more chances. At the bare minimum saying, "I know tonight seems silly, but we're doing our best to keep moving forward." I talked last year about entertainment journalism bending the knee and we know that's been trickling down to those telling the stories for years. At what point does the whole thing feel like a massive "let them eat cake" moment?

I certainly enjoyed watching the Golden Globes, make no mistake. And I'll be watching the Oscars in March – if the world hasn't imploded by then – but someone, anyone, needs to meet the moment.